9 YA Books With POC Characters

Article contributed by Noura Khalid

Many of us look forward to picking up books with people of colour characters, especially, when those characters provide greater representation and diversity. This is particularly important within the YA genre with these titles being read by individuals anywhere from the ages of 11 and up. We’ve compiled a list of a few books within the young adult genre with either main or side people of colour characters.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
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The Hate U Give is a shocking and heartbreaking story and one that has touched so many readers, which is why it has recently been adapted into a feature film starring The Hunger Games Amandla Stenberg. The story features Star, an African-American main character, along with other African-American side characters.

The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
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Renee Ahdieh’s best-selling The Wrath and The Dawn is a take of One Thousand and One Nights tale, which means it features characters with Arab ethnicity causing myself to desperately read this when I found that out!

Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon
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Everything Everything follows a teenage girl with a rare disease which causes her to stay inside 24/7 until she meets the boy-next-door who happens to change everything. Our main character is half Japanese, half African-American, and it has also been adapted into a film with Amandla Stenberg also starring.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
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Six outcasts with different abilities, and one incredibly dangerous heist, what more could you want? Six of Crows is one of my favourite reads of the year with two of the main characters are mentioned to have dark skin and super killer skills.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
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A paranormal fantasy (and a personal favourite) where a girl forgets what happened the night her friends died. The problem is she was with them, and managed to escape unharmed. The main character and her siblings are a quarter Indian, plus she also has a friend who is African-American.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer
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Marissa Meyer’s novel Cinder quickly became a best-seller with it following Cinder, a girl who happens to be a skilled mechanic and also a cyborg. The novel is a twist on the Cinderella tale with the main character portrayed as Asian.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
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Lara Jean has written five letters that she keeps in a box. Love letters that she’s written to five different boys that she doesn’t plan on sending, until all five of them receive her letter causing a whole lot of romantic interests and trouble. Lara Jean is half Korean and half Caucasian, and it has recently been released on Netflix with Lana Condor and Noah Centineo starring.

Warcross by Marie Lu
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Emika Chen is a teenage hacker who hacks The International Warcross Championship, but that incident doesn’t end the way she’s expecting it to. Our main character has a Chinese background, and you’ll be pleased to know the sequel, Wildcard, has recently been released!

Magnus Chase & the Gods of Asgard by Rick Riordan
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Ah, Rick Riordan, master of using Greek mythology to create a long running series and world! In this particular series, it features a Hijabi side character, and once you get your hands on one of his books, you’ll soon find you will want all of them.

Are there any other great YA books you would add? Tell us in the comments below!